Tidal Cyber, a Virginia-based cybersecurity company specializing in Threat-Led Defense, has successfully closed a $10 million Series A funding round. Bright Pixel Capital, the technology investment arm of multinational group Sonae, led the investment with participation from existing investors.
This investment marks a key achievement for the company, which has gained attention for its approach to cybersecurity that focuses on real-world adversary behavior rather than traditional compliance-based methods.
The cybersecurity industry continues to evolve as organizations seek more effective ways to protect against sophisticated threats. Traditional security approaches often rely on vulnerability counting and checkbox compliance, but many companies are recognizing the limitations of these methods.
"We see strong traction and a need for threat-led defense as more organizations move beyond assumptions, CVE-counting, and checkbox compliance," said Rick Gordon, CEO of Tidal Cyber. "Tidal Cyber flips the security model putting real adversary behavior at the center of defense to enable a proactive, continuous, threat-led defense."
The new capital will primarily focus on accelerating product innovation and supporting company expansion. Tidal Cyber plans to advance its mission of helping organizations measure and improve their security effectiveness against actual threat scenarios.
The company's platform aims to provide organizations with clearer visibility into their security gaps by analyzing how real attackers operate, rather than focusing solely on theoretical vulnerabilities.
Tidal Cyber was established in 2022 by three co-founders, each bringing over 25 years of cybersecurity experience from MITRE. The founding team's background in defensive security and previous startup launches provides the company with deep technical expertise and entrepreneurial experience.
Rick Gordon serves as CEO and brings extensive experience from MITRE, where he helped scale the Center for Threat-Informed Defense, ATT&CK® Evaluations, and MITRE ATT&CK Defender (MAD) Training. He was also Founding Managing Partner at MACH37 Cyber Accelerator, where he launched companies including Huntress, Adlumin, and Black Kite. His earlier roles include COO of Lookingglass Cyber Solutions, investment banker at Bear Stearns, and U.S. Navy submarine officer.
Richard Struse, the company's CTO, is a globally recognized cyber innovator who co-founded MITRE's Center for Threat-Informed Defense. He created the STIX and TAXII threat intelligence sharing standards and previously served as CTO of DHS's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. He also co-founded VOXEM, Inc.
Marcos Castro Osoro, Board Member at Bright Pixel Capital, expressed confidence in Tidal Cyber's approach to cybersecurity. "Tidal Cyber brings a new level of clarity and precision to security strategy by focusing on adversary behavior and how they operate," he said. "Their platform exposes true coverage exposures and helps organizations defend against the threats that really matter. We're proud to support their growth as they scale their product and bring Threat-Led Defense to the forefront of cybersecurity."
Frank Duff, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder, founded MITRE's ATT&CK® Evaluations program and is recognized as a leader in threat-informed defense. He contributes deep expertise in adversary emulation, purple teaming, and cyber operations for U.S. government agencies, while also leading efforts to accelerate public-private technology adoption.
Beyond Bright Pixel Capital's leadership in this round, Tidal Cyber has attracted investment from a diverse group of existing backers. The company's investor base includes USAA, Squadra, Capital One, Veteran Ventures, Task Force X, and Ultratech, demonstrating broad confidence across financial services, venture capital, and technology sectors.
Bright Pixel Capital brings particular value through its focus on cybersecurity, infrastructure software, and emerging technologies. The firm manages a portfolio of over 60 companies across early to growth stages and offers strategic expertise with a global footprint to help startups scale successfully.
The company maintains a long-term vision to build a comprehensive cyber threat intelligence and adversary behavior-driven platform. By operationalizing the MITRE ATT&CK framework, Tidal Cyber aims to help organizations transition from simply managing intelligence to implementing threat-informed and proactive cyber defense strategies that demonstrate clear value and impact from security investments.
